One Day
by televisionlover00
Summary: Standing up, Elena's eyes flicker over to Damon again. His eyes staring at her in concentration. A very deep concentration. She knew in her mind that there was something about Damon Salvatore. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Her heart told her that one day she would figure it all out. One day. Based on Little House on the Prairie. Begins in the year 1862
1. Chapter 1

The age of 15 is upon the young brunette girl who is currently curled up in a ball on her small bed shared with her younger sibling. Currently, the year is 1862 and late fall almost winter weather. According to the farmer's almanac, the incoming weather was going to be a harsh one this year. The Gilberts was in the middle class of the families around here. They barely made it by each year, but this year was going to be a bad one. Instead of the town of Mystic Falls growing, it was decreasing in size and this was not a good thing for a town doctor. Doctors needed in the town was decreasing each year meaning her father wasn't making the usual money. The town mayor Richard Lockwood was at the top tier and the rest of the Mystic Fall families were below that. The Lockwood's owned the entire town. The mercantile, the newspaper, and the mayor spot owned entirely by the Lockwood family.

The morning sunrise stretched across the sky creating a mixture of reds, oranges, and yellows. The young brunette, also known as Elena Gilbert, pulled the thinning blanket across her body, essentially tugging the blanket away from her younger brother that she shared a bed with. "Elena…" the young boy groaned tugging the blanket back from her.

This created a battle between the siblings for the blanket. The scrimmage ends when their mother enters the room. "Elena… Jeremy… you two should have been up an hour ago to help your father with the chickens. School starts in twenty minutes. Get up!" their mother demands. She watches as her children stretch their arms into the air and pull the blanket off.

"Sorry, Ma. I didn't sleep very well last night," Elena sheepishly announces pulling at her blue bonnet that she slept in. "I promise I will make it up to you. I will wash the clothes for you and even pin them on the clothesline."

Her mother taps her foot giving her a teasing grin and Elena groans a little "... I will even cook dinner," the little girl adds.

"Thank you, Elena. Now get ready for school you would not want to be late," Elena nods her head to answer her mother. Her mother, Miranda, peers over Elena's shoulder to stare at the younger Gilbert still sitting on the bed half-asleep. "That goes for you too, Jeremy. Elena, make sure your brother gets to school, too."

Her mother swivels around in a one-eighty circle and darts out of the room to finish up breakfast. As soon as their mother is out of ear shot, Elena turns her blazing dark chocolate eyes onto her little brother. "This is your fault. If you hadn't kept me up very late trying to figure out the work you were behind last year in school, then I would not have slept in. Now, I have to make dinner and do the clothes."

With that, Elena exits the room to start getting ready for the day. The older sibling always felt the responsibility of being the more mature one. The responsibility of making sure their younger sibling is never left behind. Especially, this being a younger brother, he is the designated person to not only carry on the name but take over the household one day.

The very short walk to the schoolhouse was the only decent thing for Elena today. She enjoys taking in the fresh air and smelling the sweet aroma scents of the bakery across the schoolhouse. The 15-year-old carried her slate in one hand and her lunch pail in the other one. The blue bonnet was still tied around her neck but was not perched on her head. Her long hair was pulled back into two simple braids, so she could play with the other kids during the lunch period. Her clothes included a regular play clothes because school didn't include dressy clothing. Their school didn't have enough money to include higher education programs. The school simply included arithmetic, reading, grammar, history, and geography.

A blonde-haired girl with curls bouncing strolls over to where Elena and Jeremy are walking toward the schoolhouse. "Elena!" the young blonde screeches trying to get her attention. The brunette turns to her longtime friend whose father is a part of the town council and also a long time farmer. The girl also known as, Caroline Forbes.

"Caroline, did you remember to bring your slate and chalk? I hear the new teacher is strict when it comes to being prepared," Elena inquires. Caroline bobs her head. The boy next to Elena stops walking and the look of horror crosses over his face.

Caroline lets out a small giggle. "Of course, Jer. Did you forget? Maybe you're asking the wrong person Elena."

"Jeremy, you can't go back for it now. School is about to start in a few. It's a mile walk home and back. You would never make it back on time," Elena explains trying to stop her little brother from going back to get his slate. "Just try to work it out in your head. Your good at arithmetic," Elena lies through her teeth knowing her brother is bad at everything in school. She tries to stop her brother from turning back because she knows that her folks will blame her for her brother being late to school.

"Elena, I have to," Jeremy responds back before turning on his heels and takes off running. Elena lets out a huff and keeps walking with Caroline.

Elena's eyes focus on Caroline and notices the look in her eyes. She knows this look. It is the look of I-got-gossip-to-tell-you look. "What is it Caroline? I know that look."

"A new family is coming into town. A new family. It has been so long since a new family has arrived into our town. I also hear that they are opening a new logging mill. You know ever since the old one shut down it has been hard for anyway to add onto their property or to fix their house. Well anyways… I also hear they have two young boys around our age. It has been a long time since we have gotten new kids around our age," Caroline finishes in one breath. About halfway through the conversation, Elena stopped listening to what Caroline was talking about. One thing to know about Caroline. She could talk up a storm and never left any air for anyone else to talk.

"That's great, Car," she shortly responds. A sad look comes across Caroline's face hoping Elena would add onto the conversation or would be just excited as she was about the new family.

The bell rings from the schoolhouse alerting the entire town that school is about to start. Elena and Caroline pick up their speed and reach the schoolhouse as the other children do. Elena enters the building and takes a seat in the third to last row with Caroline. The older children tended to sit more in the back while the younger children sat closer to the teacher because they needed more help to learn. Her dark eyes roam around the room until she notices she boys in the front of the room standing next to a lady she presumes as the teacher. The older of the two boys has the darkest hair and blue shining eyes. While the other boy was in complete contrast. He had soft colored brown hair and light green eyes.

The assumption comes clear that the boys are related because of their similar face structures. Elena examines the lady next to the two boys. She looks almost identical to the older boy. She has the same dark hair and blue eyes. The lady turns to the class and gives them a warm and inviting smile.

"Hello, class. My name is Mrs. Salvatore. I am new in this town. I would like to introduce you to my two boys. This is Damon," Mrs. Salvatore points to the older boy, "and this is Stefan," she finished by pointing to the younger one. "Go take your seats boys."

The two boys make their way to the back of the classroom near where Elena and Caroline are sitting. "Those must be the boys of the new family. You know the ones who own the new logging mill," Caroline whispers to Elena. Elena is not paying any attention to her blonde friend, instead her eyes are locked on the dark-haired boy, Damon. The two boys sit down in the other row of seats across from the two girls.

"Huh, what family?" the brunette asks back in a whisper. Caroline rolls her eyes and ignores Elena by facing forward and puts her full attention on the teacher. Elena glances once again over toward the two young boys, only this time one of them is staring back. Brown on blue. Damon gives her halfway smirk making her eyes shift toward the teacher and a slight red color comes upon her cheeks.

"Would the class pull their slates out, so we can start on arithmetic first," She asks in a question form, but was in a demanding tone.

A sudden loud burst comes from the doors making the teacher jump. "I am sorry that I am late. I forget my slate and I had to turn around to go get it," the boy starts explaining fast when he notices that the teacher does not look very amused.

"What is your name young man?" the teacher interrogates. An ashen look crosses over Jeremy's face. He takes a gulp and glances over at Elena. Elena averts her eyes and does not make eye contact. She was not going to help her brother out of this on. He was older and needed to take responsibility for his own actions.

"Oh umm… Jeremy Gilbert ma'am," he responds in a polite way trying to get on the teacher's good side.

Mrs. Salvatore plasters a fake smile on her face and waves Jeremy to come to the front of the room. "Students it is time for the first rule. Do not come to class late ever. If you are running late, I would suggest just to miss class and ask me about it later. Do not ever interrupt my class. For that Jeremy, I am going to have to ask you to stand in the corner until the lunch period then you may join the class again," Mrs. Salvatore finishes and points to the corner closest to her desk. Jeremy head falls forward in shame and he follows the teacher's directions.

"I told him not to go back and get it," Elena mutters under her breath.

The students rush from the school out into the small field to eat lunch and play. Elena goes and sits on her usual small bench with Caroline carrying her metal pail along. The blonde glances at her friend before sighing. "Elena, why doesn't anyone talk to me except for you?"

The pig tailed girl was unwrapping her apple when she heard those words come from her friend's mouth. Elena didn't know what to say in response. Does she tell the truth and hurt her friend, or does she say something that would make her friend feel better? Elena being a smart person goes from the obvious choice. "Maybe they are intimidated by how pretty you are. People might be scared to talk to you afraid that they don't measure up to your beauty or worthy to be in your presence," Elena could feel the lie growing every second that she talked, but it was worth it all when she saw a smile come across her friend's face. "Plus, other people do talk to you."

"Like who?" Caroline challenges.

"Well me for starters, Jeremy, Matt, and Tyler," Elena throws back names as they pop into her mind. Caroline does her famous eye roll at those names.

"Well yeah. I was meaning why don't boys talk to me. You know… like those two cute new boys…" Caroline continues letting her eyes follow the two boys sitting by themselves on the stairs of the school. Elena understand now. No boys rarely ever got a crush on Caroline. They would think she was pretty, but then she would open her mouth and never shut it eventually making them run away.

Elena shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. I have never even had my first kiss. I don't know anything about boys."

"But Elena those aren't boys. In a year or so, the older one is going to be looking for a wife. My father has been inquiring about any suitors in my life. He expects me to be married soon. We only have one more year left of school and then we are supposed to be on our own," Caroline whispers in a scared tone thinking about her future. A future that would come for many of the woman of our age

"My Pa promised me he wouldn't force marriage on me until I was ready for it. I am not sure when I will be ready for something like that," Elena admits to her friend. Caroline narrows her dark blue eyes.

"You have a better chance of making a man happy. You know how to cook very well and like to clean. I hate all of that and the food I try to make is mediocre, which is bad for everyone else. I don't know what to do," Caroline wipes away a tear that begins to run down her face.

The brunette gives her friend a small half smile. She puts her hand on Caroline's shoulder. "I promise to help you Caroline. I will teach you everything my Ma taught me about cooking."

"You will! Thank you so much, Elena. You're the best friend anyone could ever ask for," Caroline wraps her arms around her friend engulfing her in a giant hug. Elena pats her on the back. Not realizing how long this conversation took the bell begins to ring announcing that lunch is over.

Standing up, Elena's eyes flicker over to Damon again. His eyes staring at her in concentration. A very deep concentration. She knew in her mind that there was something about Damon Salvatore. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Her heart told her that one day she would figure it all out. One day. That one day wouldn't be today though.

* * *

**Thank you for reading this story. I will include more interesting things in the next chapter. This chapter was quite boring and was more of an introduction chapter. Next chapter will include an actual Damon scene. **

**Leave a comment telling me what you think!**

**If the grammar is bad it's because this was not edited. I will go back and revise when the story is completed. **

**Thanks**


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of weeks had passed since the new family came into the town of Mystic Falls. Every day was a repeat of the same thing. Elena's eyes peered over at Damon Salvatore. He would give her a smirk and a blush would appear on her cheeks. The brunette was not sure what this meant. She has no experience when it comes to boys or men as Caroline put it. She was only 15 years old and still goes to school. She still had a couple more years to decide on someone to marry.

Today was a Saturday meaning there was no school. Elena's day was full of doing chores during the morning hours and then this afternoon she promised Caroline to help her learn how to cook. Every Saturday, Elena taught Caroline how to cook. The progress was not going so well. Caroline's mother, Elizabeth Forbes, would have an agitated expression every time Elena came over, knowing her kitchen would be destroyed.

After Elena finishes with her chores, she begins her stroll to the Forbes home. Caroline's family home is located only about a mile from Elena's house, making it a pretty short walk. Elena was carrying a couple of spices in her basket that her mom wanted her to bring to the Salvatore's homestead. Luckily for Elena, the Salvatore's live in between her and Caroline. The Salvatore's owned about one hundred-and fifty-acres worth of land used for farming.

For once, Elena's hair was not in the usual braids. Her hair was in dark brown curls that went down to her waist. She was wearing a little bit nicer dress. Her mother insisted this morning that she should appear nicer when going to the Salvatore's home. The brunette was not in any way dumb. She knew her mother was trying to get one of the boys to court her. A couple weeks ago, Miranda Salvatore had found out the age of the young boys. One was fourteen years and the older one was sixteen years old. Elena presumes that this will be the last year the older one is educated considering his age. The older one will most likely find a wife soon and start farming on his own or help his father with his farming.

The walk to the Salvatore's home was very short. She strolls by a small pond when suddenly she hears the loud neigh of a horse in the distance. Her hair curls whip around in a total one eighty. She notices a horse and buggy coming her way. She walks to the side of the road in order to move out of the way of the driver. She notices that the buggy starts to slow down and the horses comes to a halt next to her.

"Where are you going, Miss?" the driver inquires pushing his hat back and out of his eyes. Elena's eyes grow two sizes when she sees that the driver is no other then Damon Salvatore. She wraps her two hands together in her usual nervous gesture.

Her brown eyes lock onto his shining blue ones. He gives her a small smile rather then his usual smirk that makes her blush. His smile still brings a slight red tinge to her cheeks. "Oh, I am just going to Salvatore's home right up the road," she answers trying to keep the fact that she knows who he is already.

"Oh well Miss I am going the same direction. In fact, I am a Salvatore. Let me give you a ride. I'm Damon Salvatore, miss," he politely introduces. He steps down from the horse and buggy and holds out his hand in an introducing gesture.

"Thank you. I will accept the ride. I am Elena Gilbert, Mr. Salvatore."

He lets out a laugh. "Please, call me Damon. Mr. Salvatore is my father's name. That's quite to formal for me. I am simply not old enough to be referred to as that title, Miss Elena."

"I insist that you call me just Elena then. No need to be formal with me either," Elena responds in a sort of teasing tone. She reaches out to grab his hand and he helps her into the two-seater buggy. Her chocolate eyes notice the beautiful brown horse carrying the buddy. "Damon, this is a beautiful horse."

He gives her a side smirk making her blush return. He lets out a laugh noticing the redness on her cheeks. "Yes, she is quite a beautiful. In fact, she is my horse. Her name is Katherine. A strong gorgeous name for a strong gorgeous horse."

Elena feels a spark of angry go through her body after he lets out the laugh about her blush. She peers over at him narrowing her eyes. "You did not have to laugh at me. That was very rude of you, Damon," Elena responds letting her inner fire show a little. This startles Damon a bit. Most females let you say what you want and do what you want without as much as a pep. Elena was breaking out of that shell when it came to stereotypes.

"I am sorry, Elena. I did not mean to laugh at you. It is just that I have never seen a girl turn that red when a male simply smirks at a girl. You blush almost every single time I do it to you," Damon explains giving her his smirk once again to prove his point. Except this time a blush does not come across her face. Instead, her face hardens in anger.

She turns her head to the side and folds her arms across her chest. "That does not give you any right to laugh at me. You should laugh at something that a girl cannot control."

"You must be able to control it a little bit. You did not do in a few seconds ago when I smirked at you," Damon responds in a bitter tone. Elena shakes her head and turns toward the beautiful scenery of the Appalachian Mountains. The landscape in this region was a sight to see. The land shifts between being flat for the farming and then becomes giant mountain tops out of nowhere. Elena was not sure if this existed anywhere else considering she has lived in Mystic Falls, Virginia all her life.

The buggy comes to a halt in front of a gorgeous two-story house that put her family's tiny home to shame. "We are here," Damon expresses jumping from the buggy to help Elena out of her seat. She ignores the hand he holds out for her and gets out by herself.

"I do not need a man to help me out. I am very capable of doing it on my own," She lets of a huff and grabs her pail of spices. Elena does not wait for Damon to come with her to the house. She hikes up her dress when walking up the stairs of the home in order to keep herself from tripping on it. Her knuckles reach up and knock on the door two times waiting for someone to come answer.

The door creaks open and the person she recognizes as her teacher, Mrs. Salvatore, opens the door wider in an inviting gesture. "My mother wanted me to bring some spices to you," Elena holds out the pail for Mrs. Salvatore to take. The dark-haired woman smiles kindly at Elena.

"Why don't you come in and I will make us some tea?" Mrs. Salvatore inquires taking the metal pail for the young girl's hands.

Elena shakes her head. "I have other things to do today. Maybe some other time?"

"Of course, dear. Did you have the pleasure of meeting my son? Maybe he can take you where you need to go?" Mrs. Salvatore suggests with a smile stretched across her face. Elena hears loud footsteps behind her and turns in time to see Damon walking up the stairs of the home.

"Yes, I had the pleasure of meeting your son a couple of minutes ago. He gave me a ride up here," Elena responds keeping her eyes on Damon. He plasters a fake smile on his face before walking by Elena and his mother. "No, I do not need a ride. I think the walk will do me some good."

"It was nice seeing you, Elena."

"You too, Mrs. Salvatore."

* * *

"I can not believe you, Elena. That was your opportunity to maybe get a future husband or maybe someone who actually likes you," Caroline expresses looking at Elena with shame in her eye. Elena does Caroline's famous eye roll. Caroline smiles as she knees the dough for the bread that they were making today. Elena quietly sits next to her thinking about her conversation she had with Damon earlier in the day.

Elena stares over at Caroline's bread that she is kneeing. "Oh, Car. If you do not put more flour you are going to get it all over the place," Elena comments seeing the mess on the blonde's fingers. It was already too late for that. Caroline grabs the bread and throws it across the room and lets out a groan. The blonde walks over to the water pump in the kitchen and cleans her hands. Elena's gorgeous curls were now pinned into a bun that Caroline did when she got here. Elena could not exactly wear her hair in a bun. She was not old enough to have her hair in a bun and her mother did not have any knowledge of her helping Caroline how to cook. If her mother knew, she would not be able to help Caroline cook again.

"Caroline, why did you do that? You need more patience, or you are never going to be able to cook. The first lesson of learning how to cook is be able to be patient. I would also like to ask that we never talk about Damon or males again," Elena expresses leaning over to pick up the dough that Caroline threw across the room a couple of minutes ago. She drops the dough into the trash pail and washes her hands in the water pump. The sticky dough did not seem to want to leave her hands.

Caroline wipes her hands on her apron. "Why does it matter? Even if I would have made the dough look normal. I would have most likely left it into oven too long and burnt it. It is impossible. I am never going to find a husband. Even if I do find someone who likes me. He will watch me in the kitchen and... and... run awa...ay from m...e," Caroline cries out letting her face fall into her messy hands. Elena leans over and wraps her arms around her trying to calm her down.

"It is alright, Caroline. You will find someone. I promise you will figure this out. I will not stop until you are the best cook in the town of Mystic Falls, but you have to promise me you will work hard and have patience."

"I promise to be better. I also promise to let go of the whole Damon thing. No more boy talk," Caroline whispers giving her friend another hug again.

* * *

"Elenaaaa," a boy taunts across the field during recess that Monday morning. Elena ignores him and bites into her piece of cold chicken her mother made yesterday for dinner. Caroline nudges her shoulder with a grin. The brunette narrows her dark brown eyes at her friend and shakes her head.

"You promised you would not bring it back up. I wish he would just leave me alone," Elena sighs looking down at her metal pail, "he is only doing this to mock me. He does not actually like me like you think he does."

Damon strolls over to where the two girls are sitting on the bench with his younger quiet brother. Elena could not remember what the younger boy's name is. She had been so focused on the older one that the younger one never even come into her mind. She kept her dark brown eyes downward staring at her metal pail with an apple still sitting in there. "Hello, Elena," Damon greets with a smirk. She continues to ignore him. Instead, she glances up at the other brother and gives him a small smile.

"Hi, I am Elena and you are..?" Elena inquires with an innocent smile with a scowl comes across Damon's face.

The light brown haired boy looks startled. He shyly smiles back at Elena. "I am Stefan," he answers back shortly when he notices the obvious glare on his brother's face. Stefan's green eyes leaves Elena's brown ones and finds Caroline's blue shining ones. He gives the blonde a bigger smile making her smile at him.

"I am Caroline," she greets toward the two brothers.

Damon ignores her while Stefan gives her a polite nod. His blue eyes still locked onto Elena. "So, Elena. Why don't I accompany you home? I wouldn't want a miss like you walk home alone."

"I don't need you to help me home. I would not be walking home alone anyways. I walk home with my brother everyday, so I do not need you to accompany me home," Elena finishes with disgust clearly across her face. She grabs her metal pail and Caroline's hand and pulls her toward the schoolhouse. "I can not believe the nerve of him. I do not need a man to walk me home. I perfectly fine walking by myself."

The brunette notices that Caroline is not paying attention to her. "What is wrong, Caroline?"

Caroline does not answer. Her eyes were watching the younger boy still who was also looking at her. Elena lets a small smile appear on her face. The schoolhouse bell begins to ring and the two girls make their way to the building.

Elena was not sure what move Damon was trying to pull. Was it his way of teasing her? Did you actually of some interest in her? Elena was not sure what Damon was trying to prove. Today was not the day she would figure out what he was trying to do. One day though. One day she will figure out exactly what Damon Salvatore was trying to do.

* * *

**I am planning to update twice a week. I am not quite sure if I will be able to do this because I just started school a couple of weeks ago and I am really busy right now. I know I said the update would be longer, but this obviously did not happen. When more drama is added into the story then maybe the chapters will become longer. Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment telling me what you think and if you have any questions.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

As school ended the same day, Elena and Jeremy stroll down the pathway toward their home when suddenly the running footstep sounds come from behind them. Elena pauses for a moment thinking that it might be Caroline or somebody important. Instead, she sees the blue eyes that she is beginning to detest. "What?" Elena asks in a snotty tone beginning to act childish toward Damon.

"I thought I could walk home with you. It is on the way to my place," Damon answers innocently batting his eyelashes at her. Jeremy's brown eyes dart between Elena and Damon in confusion. She lets out a huff in frustration. She did not get it. When would he learn that she did not want his presence around her?

"Fine. Even if I said no you would most likely follow me anyways," Elena responds turning around and walking back to her place in a fast pace. Damon is hot on her heels along with Jeremy, whose eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.

Jeremy catches up to Elena and leans close to her ear. "Why is the new kid following you around? Do you like him or something?" Jeremy murmurs low enough for only Elena to hear and not Damon.

Elena's eyes widen in horror. Her nose scrunches up. "Of course not. He's just… I do not really know why he is bothering me. Just please do not mention this to Ma or Pa. They would freak out if they knew I was hanging around with a boy," Elena pleads from her brother.

Damon has finally caught up to the two siblings and catches the end of the conversation. "Do not saying anything to who?"

"None of your business. I just want to know why you are following me around and bothering me. Huh what do you possibly get out of annoying me. Is your life really that uninteresting that you have to bother mine?" Elena demands wiping her pigtails in the air when turning her head toward him in annoyance. He laughs at her clear annoyance but wipes the smile off his face when her burning eyes do not disappear.

"One thing I do get is seeing your face flush a bright red color is anger which is very interesting never seen it happen to a little girl before. My life is very uninteresting now. My father decides a couple of weeks ago that Georgia is no longer home and we must leave. Not only did I leave longtime friends, but also left my infatuation behind. I feel like annoying makes this town a little bit more interesting," Damon responds but a look of sorrow passes over his face when he brings up the girl he loves.

"Good thing for the girl then. I would feel bad for her if she had to deal with you following her around everywhere. I would not want to wish this annoyance on anyone else," Elena retorts with a small giggle. A fire burns in the Salvatore boy's blue eyes. He throws a glare toward Elena before stomping off toward the other side of the pathway that split into a different direction. Elena rolls her eyes at his sudden burst of anger.

Jeremy hooks his arm around Elena and brings her to a halt. "What is really going on with you and that Salvatore boy?"

"Jeremy it is nothing. He is just teasing me a bunch. He follows me around the field during lunch and that's about it. Today was the only day that he has tried to annoy me outside of school," the girl explains to her younger brother, "Trust me, Jer. It's nothing. Now promise me you will not tell Ma and Pa. Promise me. You said you would not tell them five minutes ago and I expect you to live up to that promise."

Jeremy sighs. "Of course, I would not tell them. You did not tell them when I was late to school on the first day and I got punished, so in return I will not tell them about the boy who has a crush on you."

It is a late night at the Gilbert household. Dinner is on the table with all the children bowing before the food in prayer. The window in the kitchen was frosted over creating a blurry vision in the dining area if anyone peeked into the room. Elena's father, Grayson Gilbert, pulls a giant smile on his face as he stares over his family. "Anything interesting happen today?"

"No, Pa. Just your regular school," Jeremy answers shortly and glancing over at Elena making sure not to spill any of the real secrets from today. Mr. Gilbert narrows his eyes at his son knowing he caught him in a lie.

"Son, no need to lie. I heard from the Forbes Household they saw you and Elena walking with the new boy home from school. Anyone want to tell me what that's about?"

The girl sighs and gives Jeremy a small smile. "It's nothing really, Pa. He is just some boy looking for attention and figures annoying me is the best way to past time."

"Good," Mr. Gilbert finishes. Elena stares down at her food in confusion. She peers over at her mother, who is staring at their father like he has gone crazy.

Elena lays her fork down gently on the side of her plate ready to discuss this with her father. She is not sure whether his answer is good thing for her or a bad thing. "Pa, what do you mean good?"

"It means I do not want you and that boy courting," Grayson finishes taking a drink of the liquid in his metal container. Miranda stares over at her husband in confusion. Jeremy lets out a sigh in happiness being thankful that their father was not going to pressure his sister into marrying someone.

"Grayson, why not? He seems like a nice young boy. Don't you want your daughter to marry someone that will take care of her?" Miranda asks in her soothing motherly voice. Elena feels the anger arise. She does not understand why her mother feels the need to force her into a marriage with someone she does not know or like.

"I hear from some of the townsfolk that the boy does not have the best reputation back where he is from. I do not think this young boy is as nice as we all think he is. Do you really want your daughter to be caught up with some boy and his troubled past?" Grayson asks his wife who now has the look of horror across her face.

"No of course not. I was not aware the boy has a troubled past."

With that, Elena pushes her chair out and stares her father directly in his brown eyes reflecting the same color as her own. "Do you mind if I be excused father? I am not feeling very well at the moment."

Her father nods his head and trots her way down the hall into her room. She lays her head on her pillow thinking about Damon Salvatore. He did not seem to be a nice boy, but she did not think he had a troubled past. She remembers that he mentioned that he was in love with a girl and starts to wonder what happened other than the obvious. He could have married her and stayed in Georgia, but instead he came with his father and lived in Mystic Falls. Did his troubled past stem from her? Many questions and no answers which was the usual thing when it came to Damon Salvatore.

Pushing her head farther into the pillow, she lets her dreams take over her head and lets the darkness overtake her.

"Elena, you should probably apologize for saying that. That was rude. You do not know the backstory of his life, so you should not judge something before knowing it," Caroline tells her friend while they are sitting at their usual bench during lunch.

Caroline and Elena are watching Damon and Stefan who are across the field playing baseball with the other boys in the class. Elena would usually join, but she did not know what to say to Damon after everything that happened yesterday. One team of baseball consisted of Jeremy, Tyler, Matt, and Mason. While the other team was Damon, Stefan, Ric, and Enzo. Lets just say that the second baseball team is winning by a landslide. Jeremy's team has not gotten a single point so far. Damon has yet to look at Elena all day at school, which is a big deal since he bothers her every single day during lunch.

The brunette takes a bite of her apple. "Caroline, it was a joke and honestly he deserves it. He should not be annoying me so much. There is a better way to make life more interesting," Elena retorts. Caroline nods her head and looks down at her pail with a little bit of sadness in her eyes. Elena notices this right away. "What is wrong, Car?"

"I do not know how to get Stefan to like me. He is always staring at me and I am always staring at him, but he never talks to me. What am I doing wrong?" Caroline lets out a small cry before pressing her head into her hands. This was always Caroline's problems. Boy problems. Since Elena has become her friend when they were eight years. She always gets crushes on boys and that's the only thing she seems to care about.

"Maybe he is shy Caroline. He may have never talked to a girl in his life before. You saw him yesterday when he introduced himself. You should go talk to him first," Elena suggests. Caroline shakes her head back and forth rapidly denying this advice before it could sink in.

"No, Elena. I could never go up and talk to him. That is improper. A boy must come up to you and talk to you. He courts you, not the other way around. My mother would be ashamed of me if I ever went up to the boy," the blonde whispers to Elena, but she still keeps her eyes locked onto the young brown-haired boy. Elena takes one last bite of her apple before tossing the core back into the pail. The two girls seem to not notice that the two brothers are once again walking toward them just as if yesterday never happened. Caroline nudges Elena shoulder to get her attention. "I guess he forgave you for yesterday. He is coming back over here."

Damon glances over at Caroline. "Would you mind if I spoke to Elena alone, please?"

He flashes his charming smile over at Caroline. She nods her head and darts her eyes over toward Stefan, who is standing awkwardly next to his brother. "Would you like to talk for a while, Stefan? You know while Elena and Damon talk?" Caroline shyly asks pointing to the open seat next to her.

Elena glares at her friend and at Damon. "Maybe you should ask me whether I want to speak alone or not?"

Caroline sends a wishful look over at Elena. The brunette knows in her mind she must let Caroline have this moment alone to talk to Stefan. It was the right thing to do. It was the thing a friend would do for her another friend. Elena stands up and brushes her dress down. She picks up her metal pail and sends Caroline a small smile reassuring her she was okay with this arrangement.

Damon starts walking toward a log laying on its side on the other side of the field and sits down. Elena sits down next to him but leaves a gap between the two of them. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about, Damon? I am only talking to you so Caroline can have some time alone with Stefan," Elena starts the conversation.

Damon chuckles. "Stefan does not see Caroline like that. He thinks she is pretty, but he feels like her mouth makes her unpretty," Damon disses toward Caroline. Elena rolls her eyes, but in the back of her mind she knows the truth of her friend. She knows her friend is very pretty, but her mouth can sometimes talk too much.

"You did not answer my question. What do you want to talk to me about?"

Damon lets out a puff of air before starting the real part of the conversation. He was not sure where to start. "I wanted to talk to you about yesterday and all of the days I have been here."

"What about them?" Elena questions.

"I lied. The reason I have been bothering you has nothing to do with me being bored. Well I mean at first it did. When I picked you up that day and brought you to my home, I did it because I was bored and wanted to see if you were like all those other girls here. After that day, when I found out you were nothing like Caroline or the other girls, I became intrigued. I wanted to get to know you more. You are one of the most interesting people I have met in Mystic Falls and I did not want to lose that, so I decided to pick on you hoping to bring that fire to your eyes," Damon finishes taking a deep breath.

Quietness begins to fill the open air. Elena glances down at her feet staring at her worn away shoes from her walking adventures around the town. "What about that girl?" Elena questions bringing her eyes back up to Damon. His head tilts to the side in confusion.

"What girl?"

Elena sighs and begins to feel annoyance brimming from the bottom of her stomach. "The girl you were talking about yesterday. The girl you are infatuated with. What happened? Why didn't you marry her? You are of age to marry someone," Elena starts letting the questions pour out of her mouth.

"Oh, that girl. She was not what you called a girl per say. She was a woman. A year older than I am and I ..." The bell from the schoolhouse cuts him off alerting the children that lunch was over. Damon stares at Elena not standing up and rushing over to the building like the other kids. "I will tell you the rest of the story some other time. Maybe after school sometime? Just not today,"

"Sure," Elena responds. Damon stands up and reaches down for Elena's hand to help her stand. She smiles in response and lets him help her stand up.

It was one step forward in the friendship of Damon and Elena. He showed her part of his real side to her today and finally told the truth. Still Elena did not know many things about Damon Salvatore, but she knew by the end of this week she would a little more about him. Step by step she would learn more and more about him. This conversation was the one step forward he took even if it was only a tiny one.

As soon as the teacher released the students, Caroline grabs a hold of Elena's arm and tugs her toward the exit. "Come on, Elena. I need to tell you something now!" Caroline demands tugging Elena along until they were safe distance from the school and other children.

"What is it, Caroline?" Elena curiously inquires and feeling slightly annoyed for being dragged away like that. She shakes her arm to tug it away from Caroline's demanding hands. "What could possibly be important enough that it could not wait until tomorrow?"

"It's about Stefan," Caroline simply answers sitting down on a set of stairs that was in front of the post office. "I do not think he feels the same for me. In fact, he told me he does not."

"Oh, Caroline. I am sorry."

Caroline closes her eyes for a moment to regroup. "That is not even the best part, Elena. He told me that he has a crush on another girl at our school. What other girl at our school is better than me? Why has he been staring at me if he does not like me?" Caroline whines to Elena. "He told me the girl he likes is the opposite of me: brown hair and brown eyes. Now what a boring girl…. No offense Elena, but brown compared to blonde is pretty boring."

A realization struck Elena. It was a possibility that maybe Stefan has a crush on her, but that would be an insane idea considering they never conversed before. It was possible to like someone with talking to them. It happens to Caroline all the time with her crushes. When Stefan was glancing over at Caroline, he may have been looking at Elena. She tugs her bonnet over her head feeling nervous. She did not want to lose her friendship with Caroline over some boy.

"Caroline, he may need time to get to know you before he starts liking you. Give him some time. He may then get over his crush with this other girl," Elena explains trying to build her best friend's confidence back up. Caroline smiles again at Elena.

"Elena, I do not know what I would do without you. You say exactly what I need you to say. I could not ask for a better friend," Caroline ends with giving Elena a hug. Elena stands up brushing her dress down before heading her way back home with a smile on her face.

* * *

The smile was still on Elena's face for a little while on the walkway until she notices a stagecoach parked on the side of the street next to the bakery. The bakery that the Donovan family owns. A slight fear rushes through her body. "Oh...no...no...no," Elena repeats under her breath. She waits and waits until she sees who is getting off the stagecoach. She knew this day would come again, but she hoped that she would never have to see her face every again. Her hopes and dreams come crashing down when she sees dark brown hair pilled perfectly into a bun holding her younger blonde brother. Vicki Donovan was back in the town of Mystic Falls. She was back and going to make Elena's life miserable like before. Her personal rival was back in town.

* * *

**Thank you for reading this chapter. Let me know what you think. Next update will be on Saturday! Leave a comment about what I could add to make it better and any questions you may have about the book! **

**Thanks for reading!**


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